Vegetables provide essential nutrients for the human body that cannot be replaced by any other food. Many people find vegetables unappetizing, but with proper cooking, they can be turned into delicious and tasty dishes. Below, the editor introduces 11 ways to eat vegetables that are both nutritious and delicious.
1. Stir-frying or Plain-frying
Stir-frying or plain-frying is one of the simplest cooking methods, suitable for various leafy greens such as rapeseed, bok choy, cabbage heart, romaine lettuce, water spinach, and lettuce leaves. For example, stir-fried cabbage heart. First, wash these leafy greens and cut them into long pieces. Then, heat a wok, add oil, and once the oil is hot, quickly stir-fry the leafy greens. Add seasonings like MSG, chicken powder, salt, or light soy sauce at the same time. Stir-frying or plain-frying highlights the natural flavor of the leafy greens themselves.
2. Garlic-frying
Garlic-frying builds upon stir-frying by adding a step of sautéing garlic. Heat a wok, add oil, and once hot, first add sliced or minced garlic to release its aroma, then add the leafy greens to stir-fry and season. Leafy greens with distinctive aromas, such as crown daisy, kale, mustard greens, Malabar spinach, and purple-stemmed watercress, are particularly suitable for garlic-frying. Most other leafy greens can also be cooked this way to enjoy the combined flavor of garlic and the greens, like garlic-fried crown daisy. Of course, you can also add stronger seasonings like ginger, Sichuan peppercorns, fermented black beans, chili, or chili sauce.
3. Vegetable Salad
Vegetable salad is a Western-style method, suitable for milder-tasting leafy greens like lettuce, romaine lettuce, romaine lettuce, lettuce leaves, and chicory. It's important to note that salad dressings or Thousand Island dressing are a double-edged sword because their main component is oil. Used in small amounts, they are beneficial, promoting the absorption of nutrients like carotene and vitamin K. However, consuming large amounts is unhealthy and can lead to excessive fat intake. The Chinese counterpart to vegetable salad is raw-mixed vegetables, but it's also important to use less oil and salt. Oil-free and salt-free seasonings like vinegar, ginger powder, and chili can be used more generously, such as raw-mixed Andrographis paniculata.
4. Stir-frying with Meat
Stir-frying leafy greens with meat is a method that combines meat and vegetables, suitable for cooking various leafy greens, such as shredded pork with bok choy. Heat a wok, add oil, and once hot, first stir-fry shredded pork, ginger, scallions, and garlic to release their aroma, then add the leafy greens to stir-fry and season. Another method is to first boil the shredded pork or slices in water (or pan-fry them until cooked), then stir-fry them with the leafy greens. This combination of meat and vegetables not only provides better nutrition but also incorporates the meaty flavor, making it suitable for those who are not fond of leafy greens.
5. Stir-frying with Eggs
Stir-frying leafy greens with eggs is another simple and quick meat-and-vegetable combination method, suitable for cooking chives, cabbage heart, rapeseed, spinach (blanch first), Malabar spinach, bok choy, crown daisy, scallions, and purple-stemmed watercress, with chive and egg stir-fry being the most classic. First, cook the eggs and set them aside. Then, heat a fresh wok, add oil, and stir-fry the leafy greens. Add the cooked eggs back to the wok and stir to combine and season. It's important to use not too much oil and even less salt.
6. Making Soup
Making soup with leafy greens is also one of the simplest methods, such as spinach soup. Bring water to a boil, season with oil, salt, ginger, scallions, chicken powder, light soy sauce, vinegar, etc., add the leafy greens (spinach, amaranth, water spinach, etc., need to be blanched first), and cook quickly. Suitable for various leafy greens such as bok choy, Malabar spinach, cabbage heart, lettuce, romaine lettuce, watercress, lettuce leaves, and water spinach. Supermarkets now offer various types of "compound soup bases," which can be used instead of seasoning yourself for a quicker and more convenient process.